This week (download here), we discuss stretching. We discuss how and why we stretch. We discuss the different kinds of stretches that we perform before and after a run. We also dived into next week’s topic – that is, balancing running and regular life. How does one maintain a healthy run/life balance?

Other discussion of note was the Daily Mile 40 mile November Challenge. We were invited to join this challenge and we think you should too. It will be a fun way to stay focused and engaged with the community.

We also received audio feedback from Jake (Run Like Health podcast). Jake left some good feedback on where to get affordable winter running gear such as tights.

Congratulations to all the New York City Marathon (NYCM) finishers and special congratulations to Megan (@veganrunningmom) for running an awesome race today. She finished 1st in her age group and she was the 9th woman overall!

This week’s Twitter Search and Follow segment featured @Loic – a tech nerd who finished the NYCM. Congrats and you are welcome on the show for a race report at anytime! Fellow geeks, lets get a twitter campaign to get @Loic on – send him tweets and let’s get him on! He is a great tech guy and it will be awesome to hear his thoughts on running (and also great for the show).

Until next time, leave feedback on iTunes, email questions and comments to feedback [at] GeeksInRunningShoes [dot] com or just ‘like us’ on facebook! Also follow us on Twitter, Jason (@guttocutwl) and Ray (@adeyemiking).

2 Responses to Episode 17 – I Don’t Know, Stretching?

Hi guys- I’m a little behind as I’m catching up on the podcasts all at once…Runblogger has a good post on stretching recently. I dont think there’s actually any evidence that it prevents injury unless you have a routine going and it works for you..ie, if you dont stretch there’s not much point in starting but if it works, then go ahead and keep it up. Also I dont think that any particular stretches or routines have been studied. If you really want to geek it up, check Tim Noakes’ “lore of running” and also Ross Tucker from the science of sport blog has a book on the science of running…cant recall the title. Talks about training methods, carb loading etc. Good stuff! I’m bummed that I will be out of town likely without my computer over thanksgiving and wont catch the live show.

Thanks for the comment, Monica. Sorry it took so long to respond. So yeah, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right? I can agree to your point to an extent. I mean, everyone has their own abilities and limitations when it comes to the threshold of muscle recovery. I just found for me, personally, stretching has made the biggest difference between injury-prone running to injury-free running. I get minor aches and pains here and there, but nothing like the calf strain and hamstring strain I obtained during the summer.

I’ll check into the Tim Noakes book, and the Ross Tucker book you are thinking of is, “The Runner’s Body<".